Louvre Museum robbery CCTV footage surfaces, robbers seen cutting glass with chainsaw to steal jewels

Louvre Museum in Paris, the place considered to be a safe haven for artworks of Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo, among others was recently robbed of its valuables. Sunday’s heist at the art gallery shocked the world as a video of one of the suspects surfaced showing him brazenly using a mini chainsaw to cut through a glass case, AFP reported.

While the thieves took almost '30 seconds' to get in the world's most-visited museum, they stole the precious jewels and iconic valuables in a “four-minute operation,” Culture Minister Rachida Dati said. In the short video clip, the robber can be seen wearing reflective jacket over a black hoodie. The video released by French outlet BFMTV shows him casually cutting through the protective case.

Watch video here:

Items stolen from Paris' Louvre Museum

A total of nine precious items were stolen from France’s Crown Jewels. However, the robbers mistakenly dropped one object during their escape — Empress Eugénie's emerald-set imperial crown. The crown once owned by Napoleon III’s wife, which contained more than 1,300 diamonds, was found broken outside the museum, according to French authorities.

One of the highest-profile museum thefts during broad daylight spanned about 10 minutes and took place around 30 minutes after opening when visitors were already inside. According to officials, four intruders broke in through a window, cut panes with a disc cutter and went straight for the glass display cases and made off with the loot in less than 10 minutes.

Items listed below were stolen from the Louvre Museum:

• Queen Marie-Amelie' diamond and sapphire tiara, sapphire earrings, and a sapphire necklace. These valuables belonged to the last Queen of France, and Queen Hortense.
• An emerald necklace and earrings of Napoleon Boneparte’s second wife, Marie-Louise, were also stolen.
• A large bodice bow that belonged to the Empress Eugenie was among the priceless jewels stolen. It is made up of 2,634 diamonds, which was bought by the museum in 2008 for $10.5 million.
• The bodice knot of Empress Eugenie.
• A reliquary brooch

How did the thieves barge in royal collection hall?

To enter the hall with 23-item royal collection, the gang entered from outside using a basket lift via the riverfront facade, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez informed AP. The ministry in a statement said, “The five museum agents, present in the room and in the adjacent spaces, immediately intervened,” to alert the police promptly acted to get the visitors out of the gallery.

Terming it as a “major robbery” Laurent Nunez said that the robbers stole precious jewellery pieces from two display cases and fled on motorbikes.

According to reports, the main target of the heist was the gilded Apollon Gallery. This is where the Crown Diamonds are displayed, including the Regent, the Sancy and the Hortensia.

French President Emmanuel Macron in a statement on social media said, "Everything is being done, everywhere, to achieve this, under the leadership of the Paris prosecutor's office," as he vowed to take steps to catch the absconding robbers and retrieve the stolen items.